Head in the Clouds Print

BASHA is an American abstract graffiti artist and creator of the Absgraff® style. The name BASHA is his street tag spelled in all capital letters that has lineage from Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan meaning king, or good sir. BASHA is a self-taught artist with twenty-five years experience in the art world. A prominent figure among Salt Lake City graffiti artists and abstract painters, he known for his modern abstract graffiti style called Absgraff®. His paintings are original and of high quality and value collected by art galleries and private collectors worldwide. A younger BASHA grew up in Edison, New Jersey and was first inspired by graffiti in NYC. In the mid-nineties, his family moved to Salt Lake City where he finished high school at Highland High. In 1996, BASHA created a clothing line called BKW aka Blood Killa Wear aka BASHA Knapps Wear? Mixing pop and gang culture, he did his first photo-shoot in downtown Salt Lake City and the airport. The clothing line was picked up several local stores leading BASHA to open a hip-hop shop called The Hop. Expanding from t-shirts to create bespoke custom made sweatshirts, hoodies, hats, belts, and east coast bomber jackets bearing his BASHA crown logo. The Hop was a popular stomping ground for local graffiti artists with its’ rooftop graffiti painting wall. The shop was eventually shut down by local authorities after the neighborhood and city had a surge in graffiti from its' heavy spray paint sales. BASHA was a active graffiti artist from 1994 - 2004, becoming a professional artist in 2006 launching his design studio called BASHA Worldwide specializing in creating original abstract graffiti art called Absgraff®. Absgraff® is BASHA's trademark style that combines abstract and graffiti. The paintings start with a chess like checkerboard design in the lower right corner representing thought and contemplation. Leading to the Black and White designs contending for dominance. The paintings are signed and dated on the back with notes and quotes. Finished with a distinct BASHA crown wax seal usually found on the right side of the paintings. BASHA's Absgraff® paintings are based on contradictions. They are part minimalist and part maximalist and go back and forth. The top part of paintings are referred to as The Aether or The God consciousness. The bottom part of the paintings are known as The Chaos or The Dunya.